In the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected LSU inside linebacker Kelvin Sheppard to help shore up the team's league-worst run defense. For Sheppard, he had an inclination that the Bills were interested all along.

"It kind of felt good - I kind of felt like I was coming back home because of being down at the Senior Bowl, having that contact with the coaches," said Sheppard of his pre-draft visit with the Bills in Orchard Park. "Once I stepped into the door everyone was like 'Shepp, what's up man?' Just that contact, the good feeling, the good vibe I got on the visit, all the arrows pointed at the Buffalo Bills, but you never know how the Draft goes. I'm just very thankful for my opportunity."

Sheppard already has a connection to the Bills, as another former LSU star, defensive tackle Kyle Williams, has worked out with Sheppard in the past.

"Oh yeah," said Sheppard when asked if he knows Williams. "He comes back in the summer and works out with the team. Most of the NFL guys come back and work out at LSU during the summer and Kyle's one of those guys who's a hard-nosed guy. He stays to himself, but when he's out there you know he's out there and he's getting the job done. And that's definitely a guy who I'm going to try to contact in the near future and get with him as far as working out with him."

When Sheppard was asked to describe his passion for the game and his leadership traits, Sheppard said he couldn't wait to start spreading his energy around Buffalo's defense.

"I can't even put it into words," said Sheppard. "I've been playing the game of football ever since I was five years old and it literally means everything to me. The feeling after a victory is like no other, in my opinion. I just take that to the game and I try to spread it throughout my team and to my teammates. And I see we've got big Marcell (Dareus) up front in front of me so I'm going to try to get his big butt fired up before those games so he can keep the linemen off of me."